Bedlam's Song
by Wyrmskyld
Summary: Sirius learns about the tragedy of Remus's life during the twelve years he spent in Azkaban. Not Slash.
1. Bedlam's Song

_**I was going through some old files, and I ran across this. It's one of my first attempts at a fanfic, and it's very good, but very depressing. I never finished it, but I thought I'd post it here and see how many people want me to take a stab at finishing it. I should warn you, there's a rather blatant Mary Sue, but I'm sure you'll forgive me for that, won't you?**_

**_Takes place during OotP. Or maybe in a universe where Sirius didn't die. It's not really important. _**

_**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it isn't mine.**_

I'll weep all night, with stars I'll fight

The fray shall well become me.

Remus and Sirius were arguing. They'd been arguing for the better part of the morning, much to the annoyance of the females in the house, and the amusement of the males. Harry sat between the two friends, grinning madly as they flipped through old photo albums and wrangled over who had dated the prettiest girl. It wasn't exactly a bragging fight, though, as Remus was arguing that Sirius had had prettier girlfriends, while Sirius argued otherwise.

In that one morning Harry had learned a great deal about his mother and father, as well as his godfathers, just from listening to them argue. He'd learned, for instance, that Remus actually was his godfather. Or should have been, except that wizarding laws prohibited werewolves from obtaining custody of human children, no matter what their parents' wills said. He'd also learned that Remus was almost as much of a ladies' man as Sirius had been, which came as a surprise to the werewolf's former student. Although… come to think of it, most of the girls in school had spent a lot of time cooing over their sickly professor, and offering to bring him tea or anything else he might need.

Pushing his glasses up his nose, the teenager took in the scene, beaming. He was seated on the floor between two battered armchairs, as each of the two men looked through a stack of pictures, periodically showing them to him for a final judgment as to which girl was more attractive. To his left, Lupin suddenly crowed with delight, brandishing a picture in apparent victory.

"Magdalena Bishop! The Hogwarts Hottie, and most sought-after girl in the entire school. You went out with her for three months in sixth year before she dumped you to go with that Hufflepuff boy. Beat that, Padfoot!"

Harry found a picture thrust into his hands, of a voluptuous strawberry-blonde with bright blue eyes, her arm linked with Sirius's. She winked flirtatiously up at him from the picture, and flashed a pearly white grin. The teen looked up at the escaped convict, raising an eyebrow. "She is pretty hard to beat, Snuffles."

"Oh, ye of little faith." A self-confident smirk crossed the dark-haired man's lips as he selected a picture out of the pile and handed it to Harry with a flourish and a mischievous wink. Skeptically, the boy lowered his eyes to the photograph, and his jaw nearly hit the floor. She was absolutely perfect. Blue-black curls framed a pale triangular face. Coral lips, curved into a smile. Wise eyes-- almost too large-- the colour of sunlit honey, dancing with mischief and fringed with long black lashes. Nose just a shade too long, but somehow the imperfection was exactly what was needed to make the face unforgettable. Dressed in a thin sundress that flowed and clung to her form, the woman was smiling and joking with a young-but-already-greying Remus Lupin.

Harry opened his mouth to ask who she was, when Sirius provided the answer for him. "Maddy Call-her-Maude-and-you-die Thorne. Arguably an even bigger troublemaker than the four of us were. And also James's first cousin." That drew Harry's attention back to the picture, studying this relative he'd never heard of before, and ignoring Padfoot's continuation. "I believe she wins the argument for me, doesn't she Moony? … Moony?"

The silence dragged on, and Harry tore himself away from his renewed scrutiny to look up at the werewolf. Remus was staring into the fire, apparently fighting off tears, his hand clenched around a chain at his neck. Finally he shook himself like a dog shedding water—or, in this case, a wolf shedding water—and turned to them with a wistful smile. "Yes, Padfoot. You win. There's no way you dated someone more perfect than Thorny."

Sirius looked slightly puzzled, but shrugged it off, and the two of them began to regale Harry with stories of the exploits of Maddy, most of which seemed to end up with either the Marauders or the girl in detention, sometimes both, but usually only the boys. The dark-haired man explained the phenomenon. "See, Thorny was trouble, sure, but she had this innocent look that would come on her face. She never cracked. And who'd suspect her when we were around? Of course, Moony here used to deliberately take detentions for her to keep her out of trouble, gentleman that he is. Ow! What'd you do that for, Moony?"

Flinging the pillow back somehow initiated a pillowfight, and soon the three of them were laughing and pummeling each other with cushions, and the argument over beautiful girls was lost in the snowfall of feathers from a ripped seam.

0o0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0o0

Later that night, after Harry had gone to bed, Sirius was picking up the pictures. Looking at Maddy's for a long moment, he stood and went in search of Remus. He found him in the library, reading. As usual. "Remmie…"

The werewolf looked up, blinking. He hadn't heard that nickname in years. "Yeah, Siri?"

"What ever happened with you and Maddie? We spent that last day before…" He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Before James and Lily died. We spent that entire day looking for a ring for her. And you found the perfe—"

He was cut off as Remus pulled a chain out of the collar of his shirt, at the end of which was the ring they'd shopped for all day. The perfect ring. Both men looked at it in silence for what felt like hours. The diamonds were small but perfect, flaring in the firelight and forming a background of blazing stars for the opal and moonstone in the center. A crescent moonstone, wrapped around an opal, in a platinum setting. Maddy's two favourite stones. And platinum, to replace her beloved silver, which she'd given up because it burned Remus. The silence between the friends lengthened, stretched. The animagus's words, when they finally came, shattered the silence, sent it tinkling and crashing to earth.

"So what happened?"

"I'd made her dinner. There were candles and firelight, and a half moon in the sky. And just when I was about to go down on my knee, the fire turned green, and Dumbledore was there with an immediate assignment for the two of us." The werewolf gazed unseeingly into the fire, the ring clenched so tightly in his hand that one of the diamonds drew a drop of blood.

"You could have asked her later, though, couldn't you Moony? One setback shouldn't stand in the way of true love."

Remus remained mute, still staring into the fire, until Sirius repeated his question. "There wasn't a later, Padfoot. The assignment we'd been sent on ended up being an ambush. A diversion, to keep everyone away from Godric's Hollow long enough. There was a spell… aimed at me. Maddy got between me and it, throwing up a shield. But it went through the shield…"

The rest of Sirius's night was spent holding his friend while he sobbed, sniffled, and finally cried himself to sleep. Holding back his own tears, he carried Remus to bed, and tucked him in, then went to his own room to lie awake and mourn yet another friend he'd lost to Voldemort.

0o0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0o0

"Hey, Padfoot, what would you say about an excuse to get out of the house? You'd have to go on a lead, but…" Sirius looked up from his breakfast to see a sad smile hovering around his friend's lips. He wondered at the cause of it, but wasn't about to turn down a chance to go outside.

An hour later found the two of them in front of a large white building a few blocks from Diagon Alley. It was guarded from muggle eyes by an 'urgent business elsewhere' charm, but Padfoot had no trouble seeing it, or reading the sign out front. 'Rhymer's Hostpital.' One of the most prestigious mental institutes in the wizarding world, and one of the most expensive. The dog looked up at the man holding the leash and whined inquiringly.

Inside, a trim, tidy witch smiled up from the front desk. "Hello Mr. Lupin. Right on time as usual. And who is this handsome fellow?"

Following her smiling gaze to the now-preening Padfoot, Remus couldn't help a chuckle. "This is Snuffles. I… She used to have a dog jut like him, and I thought… could I take him in to see her? He's well trained."

Whether it was the appealing look in Remus' eyes, or the obvious good behavior and friendliness of Snuffles, the nurse decided that it would be possible to let a dog in 'just this once.' She even led them down the hallway so that anyone who might object would see that this was a sanctioned visit.

"How is she today, Ella?" The sadness in Remus's voice almost broke his friend's heart, and he nuzzled the hand holding his leash, trying to be comforting.

"She's been singing. All week. The same song, over and over. Something about Mad Maudlin, and the Man in the Moon. It's a strange song."

"I know it." The song came to him without bidding, and he didn't realize when he started singing it almost under his breath. "For to see Mad Tom of Bedlam/ Ten thousand miles I traveled/ Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes/ To save her shoes from gravel."

Snuffles perked his ears up when he heard an echo of the song Remus was singing. The echo was in a feminine voice, and sounded infinitely sad. "Still I sing bonny boys, bonny mad boys/ Bedlam boys are bonny/ For they all go bare and they live by the air/ And they want no drink nor money."

The nurse who'd guided them there opened the door, smiling sympathetically at Remus, but he wasn't paying attention to her. _She_ was in there. Her hair had been cut short, because they couldn't spare someone to brush the thigh-length curls and keep them from getting matted. Short, they framed her triangular face like a dark halo, and combined with the tragedy in her huge eyes made her look uncanny, not quite human.

Only Sirius noticed the door shutting as the nurse left to give them privacy. Moony had gone to sit beside Maddy, one hand lightly resting on her arm. She didn't seem to notice that she was no longer alone in the room, still hugging her knees and rocking back and forth, singing softly to herself. "I know more than Apollo/ For oft when he lies sleeping/ I see the stars at mortal wars/ In the wounded welkin weeping."

At the word 'weeping,' a tear rolled down her cheek, and she reached up to brush it away, then paused and looked down to see why her arm was suddenly so heavy. Honey eyes started at her hand, then followed the wrist down to where slender scarred fingers lay on her arm. She covered them with her own fingers, just as slender and scarred, but much smaller. Then her gaze traveled up the arm to a shoulder, and over to see a face, smiling sadly at her. He spoke her name, barely audible. "My Maddy."

Her eyes smiled at him, although the rest of her face remained still. Fingertips caressed his cheekbone, and lips came close to his ear to whisper, "The moon embrace her shepherd/ And the queen of love her warrior/ While the first doth horn the star of morn/ And the next the heavenly farrier."

_**And there's where I stopped writing. If I get, say, ten reviews, I'll see about finishing it. In case anyone was wondering, the song is a very old ballad, Tom O'Bedlam's Song. I've been trying for years to work it into a fanfic, and this is about the closest I've come.**_


	2. Mad Maudlin

**_Yay! Another chapter! I'm sure you're all ecstatic. But first, thanks to all the people who made this possible! That's right, I'm sure you all remember that I asked for at least ten reviews, so thanks to: merf425, S.c.ou.s.er.4.li.f.e, uknowho, UnSerious Sirius, DiscombobulatedDrummer, Sunny moonlight, Leo-lupus, HanSolosGal, Ancalime, and The Unknown Marauder. Also, thanks to raelyn and Romulus901, who also reviewed but didn't quite make the first 10. This chapter is dedicated to all of you! _**

Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes

To save her shoes from gravel.

Watching the pair, Padfoot tried not to whine in sympathy for their pain lest he draw the attention of a less-friendly nurse. After a final check of the hallway for lurkers, he transformed and was grateful for the silent release of tears. He had known Remus's life had been hard since James and Lily died, but… this came as a shock. Sirius looked at his friend in awe, amazed that he was still sane after losing everyone he cared for in one evening.

The transfiguration must have drawn Maddy's attention, because she focused on him in surprise. Her eyes took on a look of intense concentration, and then she spoke. Or sang, rather, "The gipsy Snap and Padfoot, are none of Tom's comradoes."

Remus's joy at that statement was so strong that he practically glowed. He explained before Sirius had a chance to ask, "That's the first time she's ever actually changed the lyrics! The doctors say she only picks and chooses them when I'm around, but…"

"Hiya Thorny." Sirius beamed, and moved closer. The fey-looking woman had nestled against his friend's shoulder, but her smiling eyes were fixed on Sirius. Somehow those eyes were saner than when they had arrived, and he couldn't help wondering if it was because she was near Remus. Then the idea occurred to him.

It was a simple idea, and he turned it over in his mind, examining it from all angles. There were a few problems with it, but all of them were easily solved, and only served to make the idea more plausible. It was in fact an absolutely splendid idea, and Sirius was just opening his mouth to say something about it when he heard footsteps in the hall. Cursing silently he transformed and leapt onto the bed, nuzzling Maddy's hand and wagging his tail.

0o0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0o0

Ianthe Thalassos had been a healer for almost thirty years, and the past twenty of those had been spent working for Rhymer's. In that time she'd seen a lot of patients—many of them victims of Voldemort and his deatheaters—but few tugged at her heartstrings quite as strongly as the case of Maude Thorne.

The slender young woman had been brought to the hospital in early November, fifteen years earlier, still bearing a few lingering cuts and bruises from a fight with deatheaters. That hadn't been nearly as alarming as the fact that she neither spoke nor slept, but sat or lay wherever she had been left like some life-sized doll. It had taken months to get her to move around of her own volition, more months before she would sleep without drugs, and years before she uttered a sound.

The day Maude had first spoken had been a day of celebration for Ianthe. It was a sign that years of patient work and coaxing might actually pay off. Remus Lupin had been visiting that day, as he'd visited once a week like clockwork ever since Maude had arrived. It wasn't surprising to Ianthe that the girl—she seemed too small and frail to be called a woman—chose that day to speak. Lupin had always been the catalyst for Maude's progress, and his weekly visits gave all the healers hope. In the beginning, the vocalizations had merely been murmurs, often too soft for Ianthe to catch, but always incoherent. Later on, they'd turned into snippets of song and poetry, and had remained that way.

Not for the first time, Ianthe wished there was a way to keep Lupin around constantly. Only when he was present did Maude seem to show any emotions, or notice another person. The girl's dreamy, emotionless singing was almost frightening to the seasoned healer, as was the blank, tragic look in her eyes. The exquisite impassive face framed by its dark halo always reminded Ianthe of a painting she'd once seen depicting fallen angels. The portrayal of Lucifer had been just as beautifully tragic as the mad Maude.

Today was the day of Lupin's weekly visit, and Ianthe had to smile as she went to check on Maude. According to Ella, the sandy-haired man had brought a dog to along with him in hopes that it would entertain her. It was truly amazing that he never gave up hope. Most people stopped visiting patients after a year or two at most, but he always arrived with some new idea. Truly, however, Ianthe didn't expect much from this new idea.

Which was why she was absolutely stunned to open the door to Maude's room and hear musical feminine laughter. The sparkling, alert woman playing with the big black dog was hardly recognizable as the same woman who stared into space and sang depressing little songs to herself. Lupin, too, was transformed by the genuinely happy smile on his face, and he gently extracted himself from the play to speak to Ianthe. "I hope you don't mind about Snuffles… Ella said it was alright."

"Not only do I not mind, young man, I insist that you bring this dog back every time you come. I don't know that I've ever seen an improvement like that in a patient!" She smiled at his obvious delight. "But now, go back to your lady. She misses you."

The expression on his face when he turned and saw Maude looking around for him made Ianthe sigh a little. Something told her if it were possible to put Maude in Lupin's custody, the woman would recover quickly now that she'd been broken out of her trance. But the man was impoverished and the next thing to homeless, from what little she'd been able to gather. Perhaps she could persuade him to visit more often, even if he could only manage a few minutes a day.

0o0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0o0

Remus found himself practically dragged back to the most Ancient and Noble House of Black. They'd stayed almost an hour after visiting time, with healer Thalassos's blessing. Maddy still hadn't been entirely normal, but she was so close to it that Remus could hardly keep himself from dancing home. He was rather curious about Sirius's hurry, though, as the large black dog bounced ahead, looking constantly over his shoulder to make sure Remus was following.

They were just barely through the door when Sirius transformed and grabbed Remus by the shoulders, grinning from ear to ear. "Mister Moony, I'd like you to be the first to know that I've had the most marvelously magnificent idea ever."

"You know, usually when you say that it's actually an abysmal idea that's going to get us into trouble." Something of his friend's excitement transferred itself to Remus, who found himself smiling back.

"It's not going to get us in trouble." Sirius's eyes were alight with pleasure. For once he could do something for his friend despite being trapped in this house. "You see, we have a huge house here, and there's always at least one person home…"

"Yes… and?" The werewolf looked at his friend in puzzlement.

"And, Maddy was obviously better when we were there. So it stands to reason that if she was around people who cared all the time…" the animagus paused for dramatic effect, and saw his friend catching on. "Therefore, why don't we bring her here?"

Remus technically didn't answer, but his friend was fairly certain that dancing around in glee translated to a resounding 'yes.'

_**Yay posties! It makes me happy to post. And look at Remus dancing around. He's so kyoot.**_


	3. A Knight in Shining Armor

**_Well, first, an apology to all the people who've been waiting impatiently for an update here. My only excuse is that company, holidays, and sickness really cut into my writing time. Second, a big thank you to all my lovely readers! And another thank you to the people who are just discovering my stories! Bwahah._**

Remus and Sirius were at it again. Conspiring cheerfully in the room at the end of the hall. They were up to _something_, but Harry couldn't for the life of him figure out what it was. Every day for the past week they'd locked themselves in that room—sometimes dragging Tonks along, but usually just the two of them. Fred and George's extendible ears hadn't been able to get through whatever wards were on the door, and everyone who knew what was going on had been sworn to silence.

It was driving Harry insane. At least today there wasn't the tantalizing banging and scraping of furniture being moved. They'd spent two days painting, or so he assumed from the smell. Then the sounds of furniture moving started. Now, five days later, there was no telling what they were doing.

The clock struck two, making Harry jump. Stealthily rising to his feet, he fled down the hall, and was just casually turning the corner when his godfathers left the mystery-room. Another part of their new routine was leaving the house precisely at two.

Today was no exception, and Harry watched them go with a rising sense of frustration. What could they be up to?

0o0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0o0

Ianthe was waiting at the door for Lupin and his big black dog. In her hand she held a sheaf of papers, and her expression was somewhere between worried and triumphant. "The release papers are all filled out except for signatures… and there's a slight problem with that."

"A… problem?" Lupin drooped visibly with disappointment, wrenching Ianthe's heart. She put on her most reassuring smile.

"It's only that, well… She has to sign the papers herself. Since all of her relatives are deceased, we can only legally release her under her own name. Absurd, I know, but…" Ianthe spread her hands helplessly. She was reassured, however, by the smile on Lupin's face, and the slightly wagging tail of the dog—who always seemed to pick up on his owner's moods. Really one of the cleverest dogs she'd ever seen.

"So I need to explain to her what the paper is, and get her to sign it?" Really the man was quite handsome when he smiled. In a tired, careworn sort of way. Ianthe nodded, and led him down the hall to Maude's room.

To Ianthe's surprise and Lupin's delight, Maude seemed to be waiting for them. She launched herself from the chair where she'd been sitting, and wrapped her arms around the tawny-haired man's neck, resting against him with a smile. Ianthe turned away, deciding to let them have privacy. They'd earned it.

0o0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0oo0o0

Padfoot flopped onto the cool, sterile-scented floor of Maddy's room, and watched his friends talking. He hoped the pixie-like beauty was coherent enough today to understand what Moony was trying to tell her. Her alertness boded well, although she hadn't spoken yet.

"Maddy? I was wondering… would you like… I mean…" Padfoot wagged his tail and barked a canine laugh. It was truly amusing to see Remus fumbling for words. It was also amusing to see him turn and glare at the dog for laughing. The werewolf's sour look slowly gave way to a wry smile as he saw the humor of the situation, and he turned back to Maddy. "Would you like to leave this place?"

Shaking hair out of her face, Maddy leaned closer, alight with curiosity. Her lips parted slightly, but she didn't speak, so Remus went on. "You see, I'm staying with Padfoot. His house is big, and you could stay there. We spoke with Healer Thalassos, and she thought it was an excellent idea if you were interested?"

Remus was cut off as Maddy hugged him tightly, nodding enthusiastically that she was indeed interested. It was several moments before they released each other so that she could sign the papers. Healer Thalassos would have been amazed at how easily it went after all her worrying. Ella the mediwitch dropped by to check on them, and happily carried the papers off to be checked over and filed so Maddy would be clear to leave.

Alone in the room, Padfoot made a quick check to make sure there was no one coming then resumed human form and wrapped his arms around them both with a manic grin. "I love it when a plan comes together!"

**_Well… it's a bit short. And more than a bit late. But YAAAY! It's a post! And Maddy's leaving the loony bin! … And for some reason Sirius is quoting Hannibal Smith from the A-Team._**


End file.
